It’s never a bad time to find a new favorite band (and, subsequently, kicking your old favorite band to the curb). Tonight’s Indie Rock Hit Parade starts at 11pm ET on WXPN, and you’re sure to meet that special group to fill the void. We’ll spotlight the debut album from Seattle’s Gazebos, plus dig into new releases from Flowers, The Cave Singers, A Giant Dog and more! Preview a few of those below:

My Brightest Diamond will be performing in Philadelphia this evening at World Cafe Live. Shara Worden, the multi-instrumentalist singer/songwriter behind the eccentric band, has proved her ability to think outside the box with her mix of chamber music, rock, pop and electronic elements. Worden has just released her new album this month, This Is My Hand, which Pitchfork described as a “successful exercise in percussive, jagged art-pop that explores themes of self-acceptance, sensuality, and community”. For more information on tonight’s show, have a look at the XPN Concert Calendar and check out her music video for “Pressure” below! Continue reading →

Psychedelic Seattle four-piece The Cave Singers headlined Johnny Brenda’s on Thursday, touring in support of their fourth full-length, Naomi, released last month on Jagjaguwar Records. Joining them was Philly’s Bleeding Rainbow, whose new drummer, Dominique Montgomery, was making her Philadelphia debut. Check out scenes from the show in the photo gallery above.

Indie rockers Darwin Deez play the First Unitarian Church tonight. The Asheville, North Carolina band formed in New York City in 2009, feeling at home at the Sidewalk Cafe, a launching pad for off-beat pop acts including Kimya Dawson and Adam Green. The band released their self-titled debut of upbeat, dance-along tracks shortly after in 2010. Now the Darwin Smith-led quirk pop outfit are working the road for sophomore effort Songs For Imaginative People, released via Lucky Number in February. Tickets and information for tonight’s all-ages show at the First Unitarian Church with Caged Animals and Cheers Elephant can be found here. Watch the video for Darwin Deez’s “Free (The Editorial Me)” below.

Citing breakfast cereal commercials, zebra print spandex, Elfquest comics, film noir, beat poets and nature as sources of inspiration, Wrong World are a high-energy four-piece out of Philadelphia that got their start playing two songs over and over in a basement as an instrumental trio before scrapping that approach and adding a vocalist. That exact recipe for their eclectic potpourri of influences may not be apparent when listening to the three tracks posted on their Bandcamp, but what is apparent is that Wrong World’s balance of raw garage-ness and bursts of melodic poppy-ness makes them an instant-crush worthy band. Stream “See These Streets” below and catch them at Johnny Brenda’s on April 4th opening for Bleeding Rainbow and The Cave Singers. Tickets and information can be found here.

Philly noise-pop force of nature Bleeding Rainbow (they’re in between drummers at present, hence the moody new band photo) shared a “long lost B-side” with RollingStone.com today. Actually, it’s an outtake from the Yeah Right recording sessions that is being released as a digital single via Kanine Records, but it sounds badass either way. From the song’s premiere:

“We recorded Oblivion during the first of three recording sessions for our album Yeah Right,” bassist and singer Sarah Everton tells Rolling Stone. “We wanted to take our harmonies to the extreme – we were listening to a lot of Everly Brothers at the time – and as a way to create tension that’s broken by the pop chorus dropping in.”

Listen to “Oblivion” below. Bleeding Rainbow returns to the Johnny Brenda’s stage next Thursday, April 4th, when they open for The Cave Singers. Tickets and information on the show are available at the venue’s website.

FRIDAY, APRIL 1
Whenever the Internet discusses Warpaint, the conversation often focuses on who they are—four women, whose swirling voices are one of the band’s most defining characteristics. Lost in that conversation, however, is another important aspect: where they’re from. The members of Warpaint have cited the strangeness and urbanity of their hometown of Los Angeles as the inspiration for their psychedelic melodies and cinematic tone. Not to mention that former drummer Shannyn Sossamon is an actress (A Knight’s Tale, The Rules Of Attraction) who left to pursue Hollywood—or that Warpaint got its earliest bits of hype when Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer briefly joined the band and John Frusciante mixed the first EP, Exquisite Corpse. Despite those connections the music is (thankfully) very un-Chili Peppers. Most songs from the only full-length—last year’s The Fool—are light on choruses, starting one place and wandering slowly to somewhere else by the finish. Warpaint performs with PVT and Family Band at 9 p.m. at Theatre Of The Living Arts; tickets are $25. —Dave Simpson

About The Key

Philadelphia: Home to a rich musical history, a unique musical identity, and one of the nation's most thriving musical communities. In a scene filled with so many local bands worth listening to, there will always be new music to discover—and The Key is your source for finding it. Brought to you by WXPN—the non-commercial public radio station that World Cafe, XPN2, and XPoNential Music Festival call home—The Key covers all local music in Greater Philly and beyond.GET IN TOUCH

BROWSE ARCHIVES BY DATE

Related Posts

"It was the summer of 2009. With school, my childhood home, and my faith in religion quickly fading into the past, I felt myself plunging into the reality of 'real life,'" singer-songwriter Ben Hughes writes on his Bandcamp of his March album release. Earlier this year, the New Jersey-based musician (and member of of A…

Delaware indie rock favorites The Spinto Band just released a video for "Shake It Off," the single from its 2013 album Cool Cocoon. The footage for the video isn't anything special, but it's how the footage was used that makes this such a cool video. The screen is divided into several different sections, which sometimes…

It's been a year since Doylestown locals Heat Thunder covened from the ranks of their various bands (Commonwealth Choir, Former Belle and Our Griffins) and released their debut EP/film, Melody, Love & Soul. They're celebrating with a brand new single called "Solo World." Their first EP was a set of hazy and wandering folk: beautiful,…

Support The Key

What do you think?

Did you find what you were looking for? Was this page helpful?
Let us know

About The Key

Philadelphia: Home to a rich musical history, a unique musical identity, and one of the nation's most thriving musical communities. In a scene filled with so many local bands worth listening to, there will always be new music to discover—and The Key is your source for finding it. Brought to you by WXPN—the non-commercial public radio station that World Cafe, XPN2, and XPoNential Music Festival call home—The Key covers all local music in Greater Philly and beyond.GET IN TOUCH